1. Field of the Art
The invention relates to systems including cards having end electric contact areas and shaped to be introduced in a case having a connection device for establishing electric connections with the contact areas of the card. The invention is particularly suitable for use in systems for reading so-called smart or memory cards, formed by a plate a few millimeters thick containing electronic data storage and processing components, which must have a large number of contacts, often exceeding 40. The connection device must be able to undergo several tens of thousands of connection and disconnection operations without damage.
The invention is however not limited to that use and it is suitable whenever it is necessary or desirable to provide a connection device which must undergo a large number of operations before it requires maintenance or repair.
2. Prior Art
Card readers are already known including a drive mechanism which picks up the card and moves it into a predetermined reading position where it remains, inaccessible to the user, during the whole duration of the transaction. Such readers are costly and bulky and are acceptable for bank terminals only.
Simple readers are also known in which the card is simply slid into a case until a preset abutment position is reached, for which electric connections take place between contact areas provided on the card and sliding contacts of the reader. This approach causes rapid wear of the contact areas.